All posts by h716a5.icu

Opener Upal Tharanga and fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga have been included in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the one-day series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2011Opener Upal Tharanga and fast bowlers Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga have been included in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad for the one-day series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. In all, Sri Lanka have made seven changes from the Test squad that currently trails Pakistan 0-1 in the three-Test series, with openers Tharanga Paranavitana and Lahiru Thirimane, and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath among those missing out.Dimuth Karunaratne, who played two one-dayers on the tour of England in July, returns, but there was no place for spinner Ajantha Mendis, who last played in the ODI series against Australia. Mendis picked up a back injury during the subsequent Tests and was not picked for the Test series against Pakistan. In his absence, the frontline spinners are offspinner Suraj Randiv and the two legspinners, Jeevan Mendis and Seekkugge Prasanna.Tharanga was Sri Lanka’s second-highest scorer against Australia, but struggled apart from making 111 in the third ODI, his next best score in the series being 34.Malinga returns to provide the bowling attack with the cutting edge it appears to lack in Tests following Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement. He will be joined in the seam department by Fernando, who has not played since breaking down on Sri Lanka’s tour of England, Dhammika Prasad, who did not feature in the ODIs against Australia, and Suranga Lakmal.Kosala Kulasekara, a big-hitting batting allrounder who replaced the injured Shaminda Eranga in the Test squad, has also kept his place. But Chamara Silva and Nuwan Kulasekara, both of whom were part of the Australia series, have not been included.Since losing the World Cup final to India in April, Sri Lanka have lost series away to England and at home to Australia. They will play five ODIs against Pakistan, with the first one to be played on November 11 in Dubai.ODI Squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeevan Mendis, Kosala Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dilhara Fernando, Suraj Randiv

Whangarei’s Cobham Oval has been handed its first international fixture, a Waitangi Day ODI against Zimbabwe next summer

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2011Whangarei’s Cobham Oval has been handed its first international fixture, a Waitangi Day ODI against Zimbabwe next summer. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has released its home schedule for 2011-12, and the four Tests against Zimbabwe and South Africa have been allocated to Napier, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington, while Christchurch was ruled out due to AMI Stadium’s earthquake damage.”Unfortunately we have not been able to allocate any matches to AMI Stadium, in Christchurch,” Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of NZC, said. “Following damage to AMI Stadium from the February earthquakes and subsequent uncertainty about timelines for remediation due to ongoing aftershocks, Vbase advised New Zealand Cricket that it could not absolutely guarantee that the venue would be available to host international cricket in the coming season.”In the latest start to an international summer in New Zealand for 17 years, the opening clash is the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Napier’s McLean Park, beginning on January 26. The window between the final Test against Australia in Hobart from December 9-13 and the Napier match could allow New Zealand’s international players to play almost all of the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which is likely to run in December and January.The Zimbabwe Test is followed by ODIs in Dunedin, Whangarei and Napier, and two Twenty20s in Auckland and Hamilton. Justin Vaughan, the chief executive officer of NZC, said it was good to see Cobham Oval win its first New Zealand match after being approved as an international venue by the ICC earlier this week.”It is pleasing to be able to reward Northland Cricket by allocating an ODI to Cobham Oval,” Vaughan said. “It is a credit to their hard work and I know they are thrilled to host Zimbabwe in February.”The schedule is also good news for fans in Dunedin, with University Oval back on the international circuit following improvement works last summer. The venue will host an ODI against Zimbabwe and the first Test against South Africa, beginning on March 11, before the series moves on to Seddon Park from March 15-19 and the Basin Reserve from March 23-27.Ross Taylor, the new captain of New Zealand, said the summer would be a tough one for his team, with nine matches against the strong South African outfit. “It will be a very challenging summer of international cricket and we are looking forward to taking on South Africa and Zimbabwe at home in front of our fans,” Taylor said. “South Africa is currently ranked second in world Test rankings so the three-Test series against them will be an excellent gauge of our progress.”New Zealand v ZimbabweJanuary 26-30: Only Test, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 3: 1st ODI, University Oval, DunedinFebruary 6: 2nd ODI, Cobham Oval, WhangareiFebruary 9: 3rd ODI, McLean Park, NapierFebruary 12: 1st Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 14: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonNew Zealand v South AfricaFebruary 17: 1st Twenty20, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 19: 2nd Twenty20, Seddon Park, HamiltonFebruary 22: 3rd Twenty20, Eden Park, AucklandFebruary 25: 1st ODI, Westpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 29, 2nd ODI: McLean Park, NapierMarch 3: 3rd ODI, Eden Park, AucklandMarch 7-11: 1st Test, University Oval, DunedinMarch 15-19: 2nd Test, Seddon Park, HamiltonMarch 23-27: 3rd Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington

India are not far away from being able to name a star-studded injured XI after their casualty list continued to mount on a dank day at Chester-le-Street.

Nagraj Gollapudi at Chester-le-Street03-Sep-2011India are not far away from being able to name a star-studded injured XI after their casualty list continued to mount on a dank day at Chester-le-Street. Sachin Tendulkar pulled out before play due to a foot injury, putting his tour in doubt, then Rohit Sharma suffered a finger injury first ball when fending off a delivery from Stuart Broad and it would be a surprise if he wasn’t soon on a plane home as well.It added to an already lengthy list of players who have been ruled out of the tour. Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir have all had to depart at various points over the past month as long-standing and fresh injuries disrupted their tours. India’s woes were almost capped off when MS Dhoni nearly joined the list of wounded when he mildly twisted his ankle while training in the middle of the Riverside ground on Friday afternoon. However, he escaped serious problems and the pain subsided by the morning of game.Instead he was left to reflect on the growing assortment of aliments to impact his squad and rue India’s best chance of claiming their first international victory of the tour, as rain arrived after 7.2 overs of England’s chase with the home side wobbling on 27 for 2 chasing a testing 275.In less than two months India have now lost seven frontline players and, even if most of these were injuries suffered on the job, India’s 4-0 series defeat in the Tests and then finishing second in a closely fought Twenty20 match at Old Trafford has brought the issue of injury management once again to the fore.After India lost the first Test at Lord’s, Dhoni said, “everything that could go wrong did go wrong.” It summed up India’s lack of preparation for the tour along with the BCCI’s ignorance of not treating the series as a marquee event. As at Lord’s so in Durham as Dhoni sat on the fence, refusing to take a hard stance on how the injuries could be avoided.”Whatever could go wrong went wrong,” he said once again. “But every match it has been increasing right from Bhajji [Harbhajan Singh] not bowling in the second Test then Gautam [Gambhir] not being able to bat in the second innings, then missing a Test match so all sorts of things have happened. But we are still fighting with whatever resources we have got.”Dhoni added that fielding his first choice XI had become an impossible dream as he is left with what is quickly looking like a shadow squad. “It is really difficult as you would like to always play with your best eleven but at times you don’t get that because of injuries. But this time we have gone down really hard.”Although the media and supporters would like Dhoni to be more forceful over the issue he is in a tough situation with two weeks left to make the most of the players available. However, he did suggest that increasing the size of touring squads might be an option in the future. “It would not be bad idea to travel with 18 players, something which we could look into.”

Runs could be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators may be allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd as part of Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.

Brydon Coverdale26-May-2011Runs would be doubled in a designated “super-over” and spectators allowed to take home balls hit into the crowd under proposed rules for Australia’s new Big Bash League next summer.Cricket fans have been asked to comment on a range of possible tweaks to the rules governing Twenty20, many of which are designed to boost scoring rates in the eight-team competition, which is expected to kick off in December.Mike McKenna, Cricket Australia’s head of marketing and the BBL project owner, has made no secret of his desire to spice up the T20 tournament, which will feature city-based sides such as the Brisbane Heat, and two each in Melbourne and Sydney. One of the most unusual suggestions is for each team to be given one super-over, which would likely be nominated by the batting side before the start of the over.Cricket Australia’s survey states the idea, in which the runs from that over alone would be doubled, was intended “to provide both teams an opportunity to get back into the game”. The cricket statistician Ric Finlay, who runs the Tastats website, said introducing such a rule would cause some distortion in the record-books, but it was likely the games could still be designated official Twenty20 matches.”It is true to say that other interventions have distorted outcomes, including fielding restrictions and powerplays and penalties for no balls,” Finlay told , “but this innovation seems on the face of it to be departing more radically from what we know as traditional cricket than anything else that has gone on before. The factor that may allow these matches to be included in records of all T20 matches is the generally-accepted status of all T20 cricket to be a gimmicky form of the game where almost anything goes.”The advantages for the batsmen might not end there. “Based on increasing scoring and making the game more exciting”, as the survey says, the 12th man could be allowed to enter the batting order as a kind of pinch hitter, in a similar setup to the super-sub rule that was used in one-day internationals several years ago.There is also a proposal to allow only one fielder outside the circle in the first five overs of an innings, leaving bowlers little room for error. Two men could be used outside the circle from overs 6 to 10, three fielders from overs 11 to 15, and four men during the final five overs of an innings.And if those ideas don’t create enough of a challenge for bowlers, they may also need to get used to several changed balls throughout an innings. A baseball-style rule is being considered whereby fans would be able to keep a ball that clears the fence, meaning that with many sixes – and the Big Bash record is 14 in an innings – a new ball would be given to the bowler.However, it’s not all bad news for bowlers – allowing two bouncers per over is also a possibility, to allow bowlers a little extra room to attack. The Big Bash League is slowly taking shape, but several key steps remain to be resolved, including the recruitment of players to the eight sides and the part private ownership of two of the Melbourne and Sydney teams.To take the survey and comment on the proposed rules, click here.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore lower order scraped 22 runs from 15 deliveries to steer their side past Delhi Daredevils’ 160 – a target that had looked small while Virat Kohli was in the middle

The Bulletin by Abhishek Purohit26-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsVirat Kohli took just 38 balls for his 56•AFPThe Royal Challengers Bangalore lower order scraped 22 runs from 15 deliveries to steer their side past Delhi Daredevils’ 160 – a target that had looked small when Virat Kohli was at the crease, and stiff after his dismissal. But Daniel Vettori and J Syed Mohammad found the boundaries when they were needed, and got Bangalore home with three deliveries to spare.It had looked like a cakewalk when Kohli was finding the boundaries at will in a breezy half-century that stunned Delhi. But David Warner provided the inspiration Delhi needed with a direct hit from the deep that ran out AB de Villiers. After Morne Morkel bowled Kohli two deliveries later, 65 needed from 66 deliveries quickly became 44 required from 30, and the Feroz Shah Kotla crowd started buzzing with the hope of a home victory.But Syed flicked and steered Umesh Yadav for successive boundaries to bring the equation down to 12 required off two overs, and Bangalore didn’t allow Delhi back again.The way Kohli had begun in a blaze of boundaries, Delhi hadn’t looked like getting a look-in. Coming in after Tillakaratne Dilshan had been dismissed off the second ball of the chase, Kohli launched six fours off his first ten deliveries. He started with successive boundaries on either side of point off Ashok Dinda, and then laid in to Irfan Pathan, dismissing him for four fours in an over.Irfan is trying to make a comeback to the Indian team, but looked helpless against Kohli, becoming too predictable with his attempt to bend the ball back in at gentle pace. Kohli took full toll, flicking, driving and glancing him for 16 runs as Delhi surrendered the advantage of the early breakthrough.To add to Delhi’s troubles, they had to contend with Chris Gayle at the other end. The Jamaican carved Morne Morkel over cover and then hammered him over long-on. Kohli and Gayle took another 17 runs off Dinda as Bangalore raced to 62 for 1 in five overs. Though James Hopes got Gayle with a surprise bouncer to end an 82-run stand off 43 deliveries, Kohli casually flicked the next delivery for four to bring up his fifty in 31 balls.Then came the moment that got Delhi back in the game. AB de Villiers took on Warner’s throw from deep midwicket for a second run, and found himself nowhere close when the ball shattered the stumps. Two balls later, Morne Morkel got Kohli to play on, and suddenly Bangalore were 96 for 4.Bangalore had hardly recovered from the twin blows when Cheteshwar Pujara found deep midwicket with a pull. They still needed 54 from 45, and Saurabh Tiwary was the only specialist batsman left.But Vettori has scrapped on countless occasions for New Zealand, and wasn’t going to give in anytime soon. He and Tiwary brought it down to 32 from 24. Tiwary then clubbed Morkel for six over midwicket to almost snatch the game away from Delhi but the match turned again. Morkel had Tiwary steering a full delivery to the keeper. Abhimanyu Mithun tried to swing his way out of pressure off the next two balls, and found extra cover with the second attempt.Syed joined Vettori and they shut the door on Delhi with some nerveless batting; Vettori’s sliced boundary over backward point off Hopes decisively swung the game in Bangalore’s favour in the penultimate over.Hopes had earlier led a Delhi recovery after Zaheer Khan and S Aravind made the dangerous pair of Virender Sehwag and David Warner feel for the new ball that zipped around on a helpful surface. Hopes added 47 off 33 deliveries for the fifth wicket with Venugopal Rao and played the percentages excellently, targeting the three Bangalore spinners for six of his seven boundaries.Warner had found the initial movement too hot to handle, and was cleaned up by a perfectly pitched delivery from Zaheer that came back into him. Sehwag got off to his usual carefree start, slamming his first delivery for four and twice edging Aravind just short of the men behind the wicket. His luck eventually ran out when he was caught inches short of his crease by a Mithun throw.At 115 for 3 with five overs to go, however, Delhi had managed to set the base for the final onslaught, but Rao’s blind charge to Vettori made him lose his stumps. Some late sixes from Irfan Pathan and Naman Ojha lifted Delhi to 160, a score that proved inadequate ultimately.

Having missed the play-offs in what is their first season back in the Championship, the Baggies will be underwhelmed over this season and apprehensive about their chances of escaping the division come next season.

What’s the latest?

Bruce has already stated that he intends to bolster the West Brom squad, having already signed Jayson Molumby from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Speaking to BirminghamLive, Bruce said: “I think we need as many as five or six [transfers] – a major overhaul is needed.

“The supporters need a new face or two who they can get right behind.”

On the chalkboard

One of those new faces could well be MK Dons’ 22-year-old forward Scott Twine, who has been linked in a report from TEAMtalk and has enjoyed a prosperous campaign.

It has seen him notch up a staggering 33 goal contributions in League One, totalling 20 goals and 13 assists in 44 appearances to help the Dons march into a play-off semi-final that saw them narrowly miss out on their Championship aspirations.

Being in the form that he is in, Twine may look to cut ties with Liam Manning’s side, in order to continue his development in the division above.

Considering his £3m-rated market value, age, and pondering his potential, West Brom would be right to rival the reported teams of Burnley, Norwich City and Middlesborough for his signature.

With his goal tally in mind from the third tier, Twine has outscored two of Bruce’s forward options in Robinson and Carroll, who have scored a combined total of 12 in the Championship this season.

With the Baggies set to lose the latter upon his contract expiry at the end of the season, Twine would represent an astute replacement who could form a formidable partnership with Karlan Grant and allow Bruce to axe Robinson, who despite being the Baggies’ second-highest goalscorer this season has tailed off towards the end.

The 27-year-old is far from the “pest” that Gabby Agbonlahor once described with the Irishman scoring just twice in his final 20 appearances.

Though his ability to play on the wings could make way for Daryl Dike’s inclusion in the squad – with Twine also demonstrating his creativity this season with 13 assists – the second-highest total in England’s third division.

Bruce looks to play a strike partnership up top – whether it be through the means of a 3-5-2 formation or 4-4-2 system. And with the opportunity to play on the wings or through the middle, Bruce could help to transition the form of the “difference maker”  – in the words of Sky Football – to the Championship.

In other news: Forget Grant: West Brom’s 104-touch star put on an impressive display against Barnsley 

The answer most people want is whether or not Shoaib Akhtar will get a chance to play another game in this tournament, and whether he will play against Australia

Osman Samiuddin in Colombo18-Mar-2011Even in his departure – perhaps especially in it – Shoaib Akhtar can’t help but be the centre of attention. Before Thursday, Pakistan’s game against Australia was all about Pakistan’s game against Australia: who will top the group, will Pakistan change their opening partnership, will they be able to handle Australia’s pace, will history play a role in Pakistan breaking Australia’s unbeaten streak, given that they remain the last side to beat them in a World Cup match (at Headingley in the previous century, 1999)?All this remains relevant but also irrelevant because the answer most people want is whether or not Shoaib will get a chance to play another game in this tournament. He was dropped – not rested – for the game against Zimbabwe and the concerns about his fitness, retirement or not, remain. Shahid Afridi rarely reveals his hand publicly and he seemed in a particular hurry today, so the question remained, essentially, unanswered.On fitness, on a guarantee of ten overs and younger legs in the field, Wahab Riaz retains his place in the XI from the last game. On emotion – and the management is not particularly keen to let that get in the way – and the believable prospect of a game-changing over or two, Shoaib might sneak in. If Afridi was leaning anywhere between ruling him in and ruling him out, it appeared to be towards the latter. Maybe: “As for future games, let’s look at the combination. If he is needed we will definitely use him,” was all he would say.The announcement dominated proceedings. Was this the right time for him to go? “I don’t think it is bad timing. Maybe he could have decided after the World Cup but it’s up to him,” Afridi replied, still non-committal. Was there any friction behind the decision? “I don’t think so. He never saidanything about being upset or anything. I think he is enjoying himself if he is playing or even if he isn’t playing.” Was it a good decision? “I think he took the right decision. It was his own decision. Because of his bowling Pakistan won quite a few matches. He has set a good example because in Pakistan normally the selector kicks you out, you don’t leave yourself.”In truth, Afridi is right to be blasé about the matter. He, and Pakistan’s campaign, cannot be distracted by this, though chances are he is not anyway. He is not a man to dwell on matters too much. And there are other issues of personnel to be resolved, prime among them Ahmed Shehzad. He has been backed unconditionally through five games, which have fetched 51 runs, and worse, some careless dismissals. Do they give him one more game, in the hope he might do something, or should they show some ruthlessness and dump him now?”Maybe we’ll do some changing in the opening,” was Afridi’s typically concise response. They at least have options now. Asad Shafiq’s assured World Cup debut against Zimbabwe – “He did well so he should be in shouldn’t he? Definitely he will play next game” – means he remains in the XI. Kamran Akmal can thus resume a promising opening partnership with Mohammad Hafeez – “We can [use Kamran as opener], definitely we can do it” – and Umar Akmal is fit and available for selection again.Without changing the bent or balance of the XI, Pakistan can make a key personnel change, which is precisely the situation they want to be in. And it leaves them with three spinning options as well. They don’t want, as Afridi said, to be experimenting right now.All that leaves the minor matter of Australia, a team untested and not as ominous as it once was, but a team nonetheless calibrated simply and clearly to win matches. Beat them and maybe top the group, potentially drawing a less difficult quarter-final. Lose and face the top teams from the other group. Ultimately, the best sides will have to be beaten at some stage or another.”They are a very professional side and they know how to use these conditions as well. They are very strong mentally and physically,” Afridi said. “But we know our strength as well, we know how to tackle and deal with these guys, so we are well-prepared. We’ve made some plans against them and you will see tomorrow in the game we will do something new.”

West Ham United will face an Arsenal side with forward Bukayo Saka in the Premier League this afternoon after the 20-year-old was declared fit by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.

What’s the latest?

As quoted by Football London, the Spaniard said: “Hopefully he [Saka] will be fine. He had some issues in the final part of the game but he’s recovered well and we expect him to be available.”

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The Englishman had Arsenal fans worried last weekend when the winger was taken off the pitch in the north London outfit’s 3-1 win over Manchester United and was seen limping post-match.

However, it seems as though it was just a scare and David Moyes’ side will be facing a Gunners side with Saka in it.

Bad news for Moyes

The Hammers are very likely to make wholesale changes once again this afternoon after Moyes juggled around his squad last weekend in the narrow defeat to Chelsea with Europa League commitments the priority.

It was a solid display at Stamford Bridge with the Scotsman deploying a 3-4-2-1 formation in west London, with the Irons steely until the final minutes when Craig Dawson saw a straight red card and Christian Pulisic scored the winning goal in the final minute of normal time.

The 59-year-old will want to see the same sort of solidity today, particularly given the fact that it’s a home match.

After Arsenal, West Ham will look to sensationally overturn a 2-1 aggregate deficit against Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany to reach the Europa League final.

However, a victory today would see the Irons climb up to sixth place and leapfrog Manchester United on goal difference.

That will be a tall task though against an Arsenal side looking to consolidate their place in the top four with a third consecutive league win.

Moreover, Saka’s presence will certainly prove a handful for the east London outfit, with the 20-year-old scoring 12 goals and registering five assists in 38 appearances across all competitions.

Two of those goals have come in the last two matches as well, albeit from the penalty spot.

Furthermore, the Englishman has been Arsenal’s best player this season, with an average match rating of 7.08/10. 

With the forward potent in front of goal, his availability today certainly isn’t good news for Moyes and co.

AND in other news: Moyes axes “stupid” £69k-p/w gem, “unplayable” star starts: West Ham Predicted XI

Zaheer Khan could miss the first Test against South Africa due to a hamstring injury

Sidharth Monga in Centurion15-Dec-2010India find themselves in their usual predicament of having to start a series without one of their big players. This time, on a tour of reckoning of sorts, it’s their best bowler over the last three years, Zaheer Khan, who is struggling with a hamstring injury and is almost certainly going to miss the Centurion Test starting Thursday. “We’ll take a call tomorrow morning before the start of the game,” MS Dhoni said. “He is quite doubtful for tomorrow.”Dhoni knows how big a blow it will be to lose Zaheer, because while Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth might be dangerous, they don’t quite guarantee the level of control that Zaheer does. “Zak has been our best bowler who has always led the bowling attack, whatever the conditions may be, whether it is a flat track or a seaming track,” Dhoni said on the eve of the first Test. “He is always one bowler who has done really well. It is a blow, but at the same time we have to see the longer picture. We have to think about the World Cup also. We are so close to the World Cup, and any injury to any of your best 11 players may have a bigger impact, so that’s also a bit of a concern. Till we are 100% sure about his fitness and injury, we won’t risk playing him.”Leading up to the Test, over the two full training days in Centurion, Zaheer bowled only a few overs in the nets. On the first day, he only did fitness drills with Paul Close, the team physio. On the second, Zaheer manned the goalpost in a warm-up football game before a workout with Close and bowled for a bit in the nets. India didn’t train on the eve of the match because it was raining in Johannesburg; at any rate they only do light training on the day before the match.While Dhoni might not have sounded very hopeful, team sources didn’t quite rule out Zaheer playing the first Test. “It is tight, but we are hopeful,” is the general refrain. It is the nature of the injury – hamstring, and not picked by scans until two days ago – that makes the Indian team wary. If he risks playing, and aggravates it early on in the game, not only will he be gone for the whole Test, but for much longer, for these injuries take some time healing.If Zaheer does miss out, this will be the second such instance this year. In July, when India travelled to Sri Lanka without Zaheer, Sreesanth pulled up injured in the first training session in the country, and was sent back to India, leaving the team with Ishant Sharma and rookie Abhimanyu Mithun to share the workload on unresponsive tracks. Should Zaheer not make it, the rookie this time will be either Umesh Yadav or Jaidev Unadkat. Which begs the question of the national selectors as to where Mithun is, after he did commendably on a seam bowlers graveyard on a short notice.However, it could be a great opportunity for one out of Unadkat and Yadav, with Unadkat being the favoured one right now by the virtue of being a left-arm medium-pacer. “We’ll have to see [as to who replaces Zaheer],” Dhoni said. “Whoever plays will be making his debut whether it is Unadkat or Yadav. We will discuss with some other senior players, and accordingly pick the best possible XI.”That Dhoni discussed the prospects for a debutant made Zaheer’s chances sound slimmer. “It’s very important to enjoy the game rather than thinking about who you are replacing,” Dhoni said, of whoever gets to play in Centurion. “Zak has done really well for us, but at the same time the guy who will be making his debut, what will be important for him will be to bowl to his strengths, what he knows the best, because of which he is a part of the international side right now. Enjoying the moment is one of the important things, rather than getting caught up with the expectation level and the pressure.”It will have to be a fast bowler to replace Zaheer because there is no way India are playing two spinners on a green pitch under overcast skies. However, Dhoni said he has seen greener tracks than the grassy, damp one that awaits them on Thursday. “Frankly speaking, when we saw the pitch yesterday it was a green track, but I don’t think there was enough grass on the wicket,” Dhoni said. “It is a normal Centurion wicket, which means it will assist the fast bowlers. But the greenest track I have seen in South Africa was the T20 game we played against the South Africans in the 2007 World Twenty20. I don’t think this is anywhere close to the Dubran wicket that we saw then.”

Transfer insider Graeme Bailey has now revealed some news involving reported Newcastle United target Nico Schlotterbeck.

The Lowdown: January target

It was reported that the St. James’ Park faithful were eyeing up a move for Schlotterbeck in the January transfer window, but a move from Freiburg never materialised in the end.

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Instead, they signed Dan Burn from Brighton and Hove Albion, but could be in the market for another central defender in the summer, as per 90min.

The Latest: Dortmund bound

Sharing his article on Twitter, Bailey has revealed that the North East club will now ‘miss out’ on signing Schlotterbeck this summer, as he is set to sign for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga:

“Newcastle miss out on signing of Nico Schlotterbeck,” the journalist said.

“Outstanding young German international did have interest in moving to Tyneside, but Borussia Dortmund were a bigger lure at this point.”

The Verdict: Shame

It is a shame that the Magpies have seemingly missed out on one of their targets in Schlotterbeck.

The 22-year-old is clearly a top prospect, having broken into the Germany national team last month, and his performances in the Bundesliga have merited a move to a big club like Dortmund.

He currently ranks as Freiburg’s best performer in the Bundesliga so far this season, and is high among his teammates in terms of average aerial duels, tackles, interceptions, clearances and blocks won per match (WhoScored).

Schlotterbeck would have been a shrewd signing for Eddie Howe and his team, but it looks like they will have to advance further in the long-term project if they are to beat big clubs to their respective targets.

In other news, find out which ‘special, special’ ex-Magpie NUFC are now targeting here!